Monitoring and Assessment System of Agricultural Drought Based on GIS Technology

[Objective] The research aimed to simplify the operating process of agricultural drought monitoring and assessment product,and improve fine level of monitoring and assessment map.[Method] By comprehensively using GIS and mathematics,meteorology,management science,computer science,the monitoring and assessment of drought were as the core,the monitoring and assessment system of agricultural drought based on GIS technology was studied.[Result] The drought in Guangxi on November 4,2006 was monitored by using the system,and the actual situation was used to test.The result proved that the good monitoring effect was obtained.[Conclusion] The monitoring and assessment system of agricultural drought based on GIS realized the organic combination of GIS and professional monitoring,assessment model.The flexible HCI interface and visualization expression were provided.The monitoring and assessment function of agricultural drought was realized.It had the good practicality and advancement.

A Multi-scale Perspective on Drought Monitoring and Assessment for the Pearl River Basin

It is accepted that climate change has a great impact on water cycle and regional water balance,and thus it would change the formation and evolution conditions of drought in some degree. By using data at 42 meteorological stations of the Pearl River Basin,the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index（ SPEI） at different time scales was calculated. Based on the SPEIs of 1- 12 months,a newly proposed index for drought--Joint Drought Index（ JDI） was established under the multi-scale perspective through the copula function. Since short-term SPEIs are essential for the identification of emerging droughts and long-term SPEIs are useful for prolonged droughts,the JDI,which integrates all the usefull informations of drought and can thus form an overall judgement,is superior than the single SPEI in drought monitoring. By the forcast evaluation system and comparison to the actual drought,the accuracy and effectiveness of JDI in drought monitoring were verified. In general,JDI can be used as a new ideal index for future drought monitoring and assessment. Additionly,we analyzed the spatio-temperal characteristics of drought across the Pearl River Basin using the JDI. The results indicate that mild drought was the most frequent drought occurred in the Pearl River Basin over the past half century,and moderate drought followed. Severe drought and extreme drought would appear occasionally while exceptional drought could hardly be found. A dry-wet-dry interdecadal variation pattern had been found from the 1960 s to the 2000 s. Since the 21 stcentury,an obvious trend toward drought can be observed in the whole basin,especially in the Xijiang subbasin,which,consequently,poses an increasing challenge for the water resource planning and management.

Applied research of landscape ecology in desertification monitoring and assessment

A preliminary research on landscape ecology in desertification monitoring and assessment was reported. Also, this paper laid stress on the study of landscape diversity, dominance, evenness and Markov Matrix model and their respective landscape ecological meanings in the desertification monitoring and assessment. Concurrently, it took Shazhuyu Experimental Area, Qinghai Province as a specific case study.

REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON DISASTER MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT AT LREIS AND DGIS

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Desertification and Its Mitigation Strategy in China

China is severely impacted by desertification. Of its territory, 34,6% -- some 3.32 million km2 -- is classified as drylands （including arid, semi-arid and semi-humid arid areas）. Of the drylands, 2.62 million km2 meets the UNCCD definition of desertified land. These desertified lands spread across 18 provinces and account for 27.33% of the country＇s landmass. Over 400 million residents are affected, causing an annual direct economic loss exceed 64 billion CNY. China＇s desertification mitigation began in late 1950s. Through a number of high-profile programs ＂Three-North Shelterbelt Development Program＂, ＂National Program on Combating Desertification＂, ＂Sandification Control Program for Beijing and Tianjin Vicinity＂, and ＂Croplands to Forests or Grasslands Program＂ launched between 1978 and 2000, the Government of China has poured on average 0.024% of the country＇s annual GDP into desertiflcation mitigation and, as a result, some 20% of desertified lands have been brought under control. Approximately 50×104 km2 of the existing desertified lands are considered restorable given current technology. When the potential desertification increments induced by global warming are taken into account, total desertifled area within planning horizon is projected to range from 55×104 to 100×104 km2. With the approximate restoration rate of 1.5×104-2.2×104 km2 y-1, China＇s anti-desertification battle is expected to last 45-70 years. The current strategic plans set restoration targets at 22×104 km2 by 2015, with an additional 33×104 km2 by 2030, and the fnal 45×104 km2 of the 100×104 km2 restored by 2050. Through examining state investment in mitigation and current rehabilitation strategies, the paper recommends： （i） boardening the previous sectoral perspective to a multi-stakeholder approach; （ii） setting priority zones within the restorable area, and establishing National Special Eco-Zones; （iii） steering state investment from government investment in tree plantations to acquisition of planted/greened areas; and （iv） introducing preferential policies in favor of sandy land restoration, including extending land tenures to 70 years and compensating for ecological services.

Effects of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region, China

The first-stage of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region（TRSR）, China, has been in progress for eight years. However, because the ecological effects of this project remain unknown, decision making for future project implementation is hindered. Thus, in this study, we developed an index system to evaluate the effects of the ecological restoration project, by integrating field observations, remote sensing, and process-based models. Effects were assessed using trend analyses of ecosystem structures and services. Results showed positive trends in the TRSR since the beginning of the project, but not yet a return to the optima of the 1970 s. Specifically, while continued degradation in grassland has been initially contained, results are still far from the desired objective, ‘grassland coverage increasing by an average of 20%–40%＇. In contrast, wetlands and water bodies have generally been restored, while the water conservation and water supply capacity of watersheds have increased. Indeed, the volume of water conservation achieved in the project meets the objective of a 1.32 billion m^3 increase. The effects of ecological restoration inside project regions was more significant than outside, and, in addition to climate change projects, we concluded that the implementation of ecological conservation and restoration projects has substantially contributed to vegetation restoration. Nevertheless, the degradation of grasslands has not been fundamentally reversed, and to date the project has not prevented increasing soil erosion. In sum, the effects and challenges of this first-stage project highlight the necessity of continuous and long-term ecosystem conservation efforts in this region.

Ecology of industrial pollution in China

Industrial development has brought China both opportunities and challenges since the reform and opening up in 1978.Spatial and temporal analysis showed that rapid industrialization has made eastern China under a more serious pollution stress.The most serious effects of industrial pollution were reflected in aquatic and soil ecosystem degradation,and damage can be observed from species,population,and community to ecosystem level.Public consciousness about contaminated sites rose from 2004 leading to greater efforts in ecological remediation,monitoring,and risk governance.Considerable efforts are still needed in expanding the extent and breadth of monitoring to explore where the greatest ecological risks lie and how to control them.Ecology of industrial pollution has become a popular discipline in China and will be further developed to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.Future research for a better ecological risk management should be focused on multi-media transfer and effects of mixed pollutants,mechanisms for clean energy and material flow,and integration of ecological risk with human health risk.

Chemicals of Emerging Arctic Concern:Preface

1.Preface The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme(AMAP)was established as an international program for monitoring and assessing Arctic pollution in 1991,under the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy[1].AMAP is now aWorking Group of the Arctic Council(http://www.arctic-council.org)responsible for monitoring and assessing a range of pollution-and climate change-related issues in the Arctic in order to“provide reliable and sufficient information on the status of,and threats to,the Arctic environment,and scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants and adverse effects of climate change”(see Ref.[2]).